L and Light Debate
by Darkfire359
Summary: What is the point of having an equal if you can't get into some good philosophical discussions? Too bad L is still focused on proving Light is Kira. And what exactly are the parameters regarding whom Kira kills?


Author's Note: This is from the Yotsuba arc, when Light doesn't have his memories.

* * *

Light had been looking over Kira's killings, trying to draw a pattern. He had already noticed a difference between the current killings and the ones before his incarceration. The original Kira had taken into account motives for actions, while this one did not, and seemed to just be killing for the purpose of killing, not for the purpose of judgment. However, another he noticed another key distinction between the two time frames.

Kira was killing drug users now.

Pitiful addicts to things like Heroin and Meth, they were really only harming themselves. Of course, such substance abuse often led to committing other crimes, and they weren't unaccountable, but the isolated act of taking drugs shouldn't have been punished.

"I don't see why drug addicts are being killed," he mused out loud, really just to clarify his own thoughts.

"They've committed a crime," L stated, interrupting his thinking, "it's not that surprising."

"But they haven't hurt anyone else," Light protested. "If Kira is attempting to make the world a safer place, it doesn't make sense to kill people who've only been harming themselves."

L turned away from his computer screen now. He spun his chair to face Light's own, and surreptitiously moved his plate of cake to his lap. With his style of sitting, it was a bit impractical, but he continued to eat as he spoke,

"By taking drugs, they have actively participated in the criminal process. They are supporting organizations that sell drugs, which almost without exception participate in other illegal acts. Of course they shouldn't be killed for that, but they should be punished."

Light shook his head.

"I'm not talking about the drug trade itself, or any other crimes that drugs can lead to. All I'm saying is that we shouldn't prosecute, or in Kira's case murder, for the single action of abusing drugs."

"Do you think that their addiction absolves them of responsibility?" L asked him.

"No," Light responded.

"Does it in any way reduce their responsibility for their actions?"

_No. Whether they consciously do something or not, they must be held accountable, _Light thought. Then he realized where this would lead if he said it out loud; his initial argument for not being Kira was that he hadn't consciously done anything. Sneaky bastard. So he turned the tables.

"L, what would happen if I took away your cake?" he asked. L pondered this for a moment.

"I would kick you in the face," he answered honestly.

"No," Light clarified, "what if you were deprived of cake in general? Or sweets entirely for that matter?"

"It would greatly reduce my ability to function," he replied.

"One could make the argument that your addiction to sugar is just a lesser form of a drug addiction. You'd suffer withdrawal if deprived - and it is withdrawal, since normal people are perfectly fine without sugar. Your addiction is detrimental to your health, and you are willing to give in to things for the promise of more sweets."

"When has such a thing occurred?"

"Yesterday, when Watari bribed you with an ice cream cone in order to get you to wash your hair," Light responded without hesitation. L held his thumb to his mouth, thinking.

"Light-kun may have a point. However, my habit is perfectly legal."

"Since when has the legality of something bothered you?" Light questioned angrily. "Between me and Misa, you've completely violated any ideals of privacy, and you have easily performed cruel and unusual punishment. Which is illegal even if someone has been convicted of a crime, whereas Misa and I are only under suspicion. Then there was my mock execution, which was banned by the United Nations for being psychological torture. Not to mention how you regularly commit health code violations with your refusal to wear shoes."

"I believe that you are getting off-topic," L remarked. "We are talking about whether or not the abuse of illegal drugs should be treated as a matter of criminal justice, not my methods of conducting this case."

"Very well then," Light agreed. "Let's discuss the financial aspect of it, seeing as I can't sway you from your grey morality. The cost of keeping someone in prison for a year is roughly $40,000, without the cost of trials or paying whoever investigated the crime in the first place. The purpose of imprisonment is to keep someone from being a threat to others, and to attempt to reform them. The former use is irrelevant since a drug user's victim is his or herself, and for the latter a drug rehabilitation program could be used for a greatly reduced cost."

"So you are saying that it is just not worth it to keep people in prison?" L asked.

"In this case, yes," Light answered.

"I would guess that Kira also looked at the costs of imprisoning people. He didn't think that they were worth it either."

Light sighed,

"We could actually have a good discussion if you didn't try to twist everything I say into making me look like Kira."

"We could also have a good discussion if you didn't stoop to the level of comparing my cake to drugs," L responded, displaying his plate of said pastry. "I think that you hurt Cake-kun's feelings."

* * *

Author's Note 2: This was an idea that arose from me working on my LD debate, or values debate case. And what better way to think through my homework than to write a fanfic on it? ...Don't answer that. The original resolution was "The abuse of illegal drugs ought to be treated as a matter of public health, not criminal justice." I thought it would be interesting for Light to take the affirmative standpoint, since it means lack of punishment. In this case, the affirmative has a lot more ground, but the negative has a wider range of tactics and can use sneaky tricks about the wording. Hopefully I have portrayed that here. Feel free to review or pm me your opinions on this topic.


End file.
